Monday, December 15, 2014

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian police locked down the center of the country's biggest city on Monday after an armed man walked into a busy downtown Sydney cafe, took hostages and forced them to display an Islamic flag, igniting fears of a jihadist attack..

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices touched fresh 5-1/2-year lows on Monday, spurring an emerging market selloff as demand for the safe-haven yen picked up while European stocks stabilised after their worst week since 2011..

(Reuters) - - Kobe Bryant eclipsed Michael Jordan on the National Basketball Association's all-time scoring list on Sunday, surpassing the legendary scorer during the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' game at the Minnesota Timberwolves..

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have unveiled the most comprehensive bird 'family tree' ever devised, using genetic data from 48 species to trace how modern bird lineages arose and flourished after the mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs..

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Waves of revelers dressed in Santa Claus outfits invaded Midtown Manhattan on Saturday as part of New York's version of SantaCon, a massive pub crawl that organizers scaled back this year in part to prevent conflicts with a nearby protest march..